A searing confessional infused with the darkest humor, Permanent Midnight chronicles the opiated abyss of a Hollywood screenwriter and his formidable climb into sobriety.

Made into a major motion picture starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Permanent Midnight is revered by critics and an ever-growing cult of devoted readers as one of the most compelling contemporary memoirs.

"Permanent Midnight is one of the most harrowing and toughest accounts ever written in this century about what it means to be a junkie in America, making Burroughs look dated and Kerouac appear as the nose-thumbing adolescent he was. Recommended for the true elite: those who can tell themselves a joke while slitting their own throats." Greg Burkman, Booklist

"An extraordinary accomplishment....A remarkable book that will be of great value to people who feel isolated, alienated and overwhelmed by the circumstances of their lives." Hubert Selby, Jr., author of Last Exit to Brooklyn

"[Stahl] is a better-than-Burroughs virtuoso." Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker

"Original, appalling, indelible picture of a man trying to swim and drown at the same time. Stahl has nerve, heart, a language of his own and a ghastly, riotous humor." Tobias Wolff, author of This Boy's Life

Now a motion picture starring Ben Stiller, this is the autobiography of a former television writer who lands a job penning what he considers to be crappy but lucrative TV scripts, and descends into a quasi-functional heroin addiction.

"An extraordinary accomplishment. . . . A remarkable book that will be of great value to people who feel isolated, alienated and overwhelmed by the circumstances of their lives."-Hubert Selby, Jr., author of Last Exit to Brooklyn

"[Stahl] is a better-than-Burroughs virtuoso."-Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker

"Original, appalling, indelible picture of a man trying to swim and drown at the same time. Stahl has nerve, heart, a language of his own and a ghastly, riotous humor."-Tobias Wolff, author of This Boy's Life

"Permanent Midnightis one of the most harrowing and toughest accounts ever written in this century about what it means to be a junkie in America, making Burroughs look dated and Kerouac appear as the nose-thumbing adolescent he was."-Booklist

A searing confessional infused with the darkest humor, Permanent Midnightchronicles the opiated abyss of a Hollywood screenwriter and his formidable climb into sobriety.

Made into a major motion picture starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Permanent Midnightis revered by critics and an ever-growing cult of devoted readers as one of the most compelling contemporary memoirs.

Jerry Stahlwas born in Pittsburgh. He is author of the novels Perv: A Love Story, Plainclothes Nakedand I, Fatty, the paperback edition of which will appear in 2005. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Jerry Stahl was born in Pittsburgh. He is author of the novels, I, Fatty, Perv: A Love Story, and Plainclothes, Naked. He currently lives in Los Angeles.